Planning Panning

When creating certain images, planning and knowing what it is that you are trying to create, is a major step to achieving your goal. You need to know what it is you want to create, before you create it, make sense?

Panning might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but personally I have found this to be one of the most rewarding images to create. It is high risk high reward stuff and comes from a lot of trial and error, lots of practice, and the willingness to throw yourself out there to create something different.

1/6 ISO 100 F25

½0 ISO 125 F 9

1/10 ISO 4000 F14

Personally I have found we are hesitant to try this. What if people don’t like it? What if I don’t get it right? What if, what if? Don’t get me wrong, banking your shot should always be on top of your list, but after you have captured a thousand images of your subject moving, what is next? Are you just creating another thousand images that are exactly the same? Are you putting your camera down?

1/8 ISO 100 F20

1/6 ISO 2000 F4

There is no set recipe for panning, as a lot of it depends on how much light you have available, how fast your subject is moving etc. The great thing is when processing your images you can learn from your Lightroom Catalogue that could help you master this art. When in the Develop Module, simply hit “I” for info (usually twice) and your Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO should appear in the top left of your screen.

What should my settings be?

On aperture mode, your ISO and Aperture will depend on how much light is available, but ideally you are looking for a shutter speed of 1/30 and slower. The slower your shutter speed, the more blur you will get and the greater the results, however the risk is much higher of blurring the image completely. A lot of this is trial and error and depends how quickly your subject is moving (the faster your subject moves, the easier it is to blur).

Focus on the shoulder or neck area, this will give you a larger area to focus on. Whilst keeping your finger on the shutter move at the same speed as your subject. Ideally you want some part of the subject (preferably the face/shoulder area to be in focus, giving your viewers eyes a place to rest).

So the next time you on Safari, bank your shots, but then why not try something different?

Comments 1

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Contact Us

If you're looking for something but cant quite find it on our website, or perhaps you have a photography or photo safari related question, please feel free to get in touch with us so that we can assist you!